Welcome to the Arbana Region!
by TheTallPeanut
Summary: Claire Vanata is a 15-year old girl who not only learns to travel with Pokemon, but to deal with a genocidal organization, frantic emergencies, and...boys. She can't exactly do this one-handedly, though. Join Claire and her friends: Professor Pine (former Kalos champion), Jake, Trudy, Dustin, and all of her Pokemon as she wins over the Arbana region! Rated T just to be safe.
1. Prologue

"_Welcome, child. I'm so excited to be able to help you on your journey. Tell me, do you have a passion for Pokémon? You do? Well, that's essential for your task, of course! I am Professor Serena Pine, but you may call me Professor, or Professor Pine, or just plain Pine. I study Pokémon genetics and types. _

"_Tell me, are you a boy, or are you a girl? Oh, you're a girl? Now tell me your name, if you please. Claire? Your name is Claire? Well, that's a beautiful name! _

"_Okay, Claire, I would like to welcome you to the world of Pokémon in the Arbana Region!"_

Claire's eyes fluttered open. What was that dream she just had? Who was that Professor Pine lady that had spoken to her? What on earth is a-

Oh.

Wait.

Duh.

"CLAIRE, BREAKFAST IS READY!" Claire jumped at her mom's booming voice.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming downstairs!"

* * *

**Hello, readers!**

**AN: This is my first Pokemon FanFiction, and I really hope you like it! I will try my best to keep this story updated, and since summer is coming up, I will DEFINITELY work on this! I probably won't get to add anymore chapters for the next 2 weeks because I have exams D: UGH why education whyyyy**

**Anyway, sorry for the short, boring prologue. I promise that what's to come will be SO much better. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! I will take any suggestions, and maybe some OC's...? **

**Okay, see ya!**

**~TheTallPeanut~**


	2. Chapter 1

"Mom, I want to go on a Pokémon adventure! Trudy said she already knows what Pokémon she wants, and that she's gonna 'kick Dustin's ass'!"

Claire's mother looked at her. Her dark green eyes seemed to bore into Claire's mind and soul, like they always did.

"Well, since you're 15, I guess that's not a bad idea! When do you want to start?" Her mom asked her.

Claire stared at her mother. Shauna, the Pokémon trainer from Kalos. Her green eyes and chocolate brown hair seemed to be the only thing Claire had in common with her mother. She got the rest of her appearance from her father, Trevor, who worked at the region's Pokémon lab with his childhood friend, Serena.

"I was thinking to start in about... uh... 15 minutes...?"

Shauna laughed. "Oh, man, kiddo, you're gonna have to wait at least a week to prepare and make all of your decisions and-"

"Mom! A _WEEK_? Are you kidding me? I can't wait that long! Trudy's gonna start without me!" Claire jumped out of the kitchen chair. Her mother laughed.

"Claire, if you really think you're gonna start a Pokémon journey in 15 minutes, you better hurry upstairs and start packing!" Claire jumped over the counter and hugged her mom.

"Mom, you're the BEST! Thank you!"

Claire practically flew up the stairs. She picked up her Holo Caster, and called Trudy. The Caster rang 5 times before Trudy finally picked up, her white-blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, and her ice blue eyes half-open. "Yo, Cla-"

"TRUDY, I CAN GO WITH YOU!" Claire screamed at her friend. Trudy jumped at Claire's sudden volume. "Mom said I can go on a Pokémon adventure with you and everyone!"

"Oh my Arceus, Claire, finally? That's awesome! I gotta tell Dustin and Jake to hurry the crap up or we'll leave without them, because in 20 minutes, I'm meeting with you at the fountain and we are OUTTA HERE!" Claire rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll see you then!" Trudy said, and hung up. Claire sighed. Trudy was crazy.

Claire walked to her armoire and picked out her travel outfit. She had delicately planned out this outfit for years- ever since she was 9, to be exact. The ensemble consisted of a light mint green shirt with 3/4 sleeves. Her shorts were a musky gray. She had a baseball cap that was white, light pink, and teal. She had knee-length teal socks with aqua, gray, and light pink combat boots. Claire put on the outfit and tied her long brown hair into pigtails that hung over each shoulder. She picked up her bag- white with a teal trim- packed it, and headed downstairs again to say goodbye to her mother.

"Mom, I'm leaving!" Shauna turned to see her daughter fully dressed and ready to go.

"Oh my goodness, Claire! I can't believe today's the day! You know, when I was your age, we had a new girl in our town and that's how we started our adventure! By the way, you'll get to meet Seren-" Shauna gushed.

"Mom. I gotta meet Trudy at the fountain in 2 minutes! I'll miss you." Claire hugged her mother.

"Yeah, of course. Do you have everything you need? Poké Balls? Potions? Oh, here's a map of Arbana... is there anything else? You've got your shoes on, that's a must... Aww, Claire, I'm just gonna miss you so much!" Shauna hugged her daughter, some tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes.

"Mom, I'll be fine! I won't need Potions or Poké Balls 'till I have a Pokémon, right?" Claire squeezed her mom back.

"Well, yeah, I guess so... Well, no sense in stretching this out any longer!" A light _thud_ sounded behind the mother and daughter. "Oh, gosh, it looks like Lil' Chesnaught wants to say bye, too." The Spiny Armor Pokémon nuzzled the two.

"Hey, Chesnaught! Don't worry, bud! I'll miss you, too!" Claire rubbed one of the spines on Chesnaught's back.

Shauna smiled. "Well, Lil' Claire," Claire huffed at her baby name. "I guess this is it! I'll miss you, I love you with all my heart, and just PLEASE don't get yourself hurt!"

"Aw, Mom! I'm going to come back and visit, you know!" Shauna nodded. Claire let go of her mom's waist and went to the door.

"Bye, honey." Shauna sighed and went back to the kitchen as Claire shut the sleek, shiny wood door behind her.

* * *

**AN: Awww, such a sweet little mother-daughter moment at the end there~**

**Sorry to keep you guys waiting! School got out today, and I had exams and extracurricular madness (I'm a theatre kid). Needless to say, now that it's officially summer break for me, I will get to write a lot more! (Hopefully...) I do have a lot coming up, like community service and shows, but I will try to update this at least once a week!**

**Anywho, I'm so excited to keep writing this! I have A LOT planned out, and we still have to meet Trudy and all of Claire's other friends! I hope you guys will keep reading this!**

_**NEXT **__**CHAPTER:**_** Claire and her friends will choose their first Pok****émon, and we will meet Professor Pine, and some old ****Pok****émon characters from other games too!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I will take any suggestions, and maybe some OC's if you ask nicely ;)**

**Peace out ^_^**

**~TheTallPeanut**


	3. Chapter 2

In the middle of Genresa Town, there was a 10 foot tall fountain that spurted water into tiny pools that eventually made its way to the center of the fountain to begin the cycle again.

Along the edge of this plain fountain sat a 15-year old girl with a long, blonde ponytail, a blue and lavender crop top, grey boots, and a cocky attitude. Trudy Cadalade swiped her fingers along the fountain water's surface, not disturbing the flow because the water was already moving.

"Trudy! I'm here!" Trudy turned her head to see her best, friend, Claire, jogging toward her.

"'Sup, C-Dawg?" Trudy asked. Claire laughed. Only Trudy called her C-Dawg and got away with it.

"Where's Jake and Dustin?" Claire looked around for their other two friends, then back at Trudy.

"Oh, Jake's on his way. I swear though, if Dustin's late again, it's gonna be the whole Potion situation all over again." Trudy growled. Claire grinned at the memory.

***FLASHBACK***

"_Sorry I'm late, guys!" Dustin called. His eyes looked dead ahead as he sprinted to the courtyard to see... nobody. _

"_Guys?" He received no response. "Claire? Jake? Trudy? Hey! Where'd you guys go?" Dustin looked around, up trees, behind benches, around the fountain, at the gazebo, but he couldn't find any of his companions._

_Suddenly, a wild Weedle inched to Dustin's feet and poked him in the ankle with the spike on it's head. "Hey!" Dustin complained. "What was that for?" He shooed thePokémon away, and sat on the fountain to inspect the puncture. It was bleeding a little bit, so naturally he did the only thing he thought of._

_Dustin pulled a Potion out of his pack and sprayed it on the wound. "OW!" He cried. The Pokémon medicine stung so bad that tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his tan cheeks._

"_Oh my ARCEUS, Dustin! What's WRONG with you?!" Dustin whirled around to see Claire run out from behind the Raichu statue with Trudy and Jake in tow. Trudy was laughing so hard that she couldn't run, so Jake carried her in a piggyback ride as he jogged to Dustin._

"_I got stabbed by a freaking WEEDLE, what does it look like?" That sent Trudy into another fit of giggles. "And it hurt, so I thought, 'Hey, since it was a Pokémon that hurt me, why don't I use Pokémon MEDICINE on it?' So I sprayed the Potion on, and it hurts like CRAP!" Trudy had fallen off of Jake's back and was curled up in a ball of hysterics. "What's HER deal?" Dustin pointed to Trudy._

_Claire and Jake looked at each other and burst out laughing._

"_What?! What's so funny?" Claire was close to tears, and Jake was hunched over, sucking in air at every gasp he could take. "Why are you guys laughing? I'm in serious pain over here!" Jake calmed down, wiped his gray eyes, and told Dustin what happened. "You WHAT?!" Dustin shouted so loud that the Pidgeys that had settled on the nearby tree branches flew away. _

"_It's just like I said! Trudy got pissed at your being late, so she decided to sic a Weedle on you!"_

_Claire had recovered at this point as well._

"_She never expected you to be so dumb as to spray a POTION on the puncture! Arceus, Dustin, don't you know that Potions do the exact OPPOSITE on humans as they do on Pokémon? They HURT you!" Claire looked at Dustin's ankle. It was red and puffy. _

"_Yup, that's infected. C'mon, me and Jake will help you home." And with that, Claire and Jake slung one of Dustin's arms over their shoulders and dragged him back to his house which, luckily, was 2 minutes away from the courtyard._

_Trudy was still laying on the ground, wheezing for air and cracking up at the thought of Dustin's stupidity._

_***_END FLASHBACK_***_

"Trudy! Claire! Over here!" The girls turned to see Jake dragging Dustin behind him. "Sorry we're running late," Jake continued, "Dustin was taking forever because he couldn't find his bag."

Dustin looked at Jake. "Hey, I wasn't taking THAT long! I just forgot to-"

Jake laughed. "He 'forgot' to look at his desk chair, where the bag was sitting in plain sight." Trudy rolled her eyes. Claire giggled.

"Well, since we're all here, let's get going, shall we?" Claire grabbed Trudy's hand and Jake's arm and ran off with them, as Dustin stumbled behind them, saying "Hey, guys, wait for me!"

When a few minutes had passed, the foursome arrived in Finadon Town, home of the Arbana Pokémon Professor, Pine. Trudy ran to the Pokémon Lab's front steps. "Come on, Slowpokes! Get your butts over here!" Claire, Jake, and Dustin followed her inside.

"_Wow..._" Dustin breathed. Trudy stared in amazement. Claire simply nodded, and Jake's jaw hung open. The Pokémon Lab was _amazing_. Bronze chandeliers hung from the glossy creamy ceiling. Misty blue walls had big lab stations with vials of chemicals, lab equipment, and experiments strewn everywhere as scientists worked.

"Can I help you kids?" The teens looked around and saw a young woman with honey blonde hair, grey eyes, and a lab coat looking at them. Professor Serena Pine beckoned the kids over, and they walked to her.

"Can we get Pokémon today?" Trudy asked. The professor laughed.

"Well, duh! I always have our three Pokémon on hand for this very reason! Here they are." Serena took three Pokéballs from a lab table and opened them. Three glowing forms emerged, fading to reveal a green rabbit-looking Pokémon with leaf designs on its big ears and a tail that looked exactly like a fern- Ferharn, an orange snake with a fame design on its back that glowed like lit coals- Flasemp, and a light blue bird with a teardrop design on its belly and water droplets on the ends of the feathers on its head- Quaiter.

The four kids looked at the Pokémon in awe. "Wow, we have to choose _one _of these?" Jake asked. The professor nodded. "Yes, unfortunately, you can't have it all, kiddo." Dustin looked at the Pokémon. "Eh, you guys can bicker and fight. I don't think Pokémon battles are for me...yet." The other three looked at him in shock. Dustin always seemed like he wanted his first Pokémon the _most_ out of the group, but now he didn't want one?

"Ah, suit yourself, Dusty. That just means we get to kick your butt!" Claire exclaimed. She looked back at all of the Pokémon. Trudy was laughing as the snake rubbed up against Jake's leg and he shivered.

"Yeah, I don't think the orange one's for me..." Jake shuddered. The blue bird shook its feathery head and some water droplets landed on his orange and white shirt. He shrugged and pressed the fabric to squeeze the water out.

A thin leaf floated on Trudy's nose, so she picked it off. The rabbit Pokémon giggled as a new leaf grew back on its tail almost instantly. Claire smiled as she thought about which Pokémon she would choose. "I think this little guy is mine," she heard Trudy announce as Flasemp curled around her calf.

_Yeah, _Claire thought. _Those two look like they would make a good team. I wonder of Jake will let me pick. _"Ladies first, Jake said, waving to Claire as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Hmmm..."

Claire's green eyes darted in between the bird and the rabbit. They both looked like they had a lot of potential, but one stood out to her more than the other.

She picked up a leaf that had fallen on the ground and gave it back to the rabbit Pokémon. "You wanna come with me, Ferharn?" The rabbit Pokémon nodded and leaped onto Claire's hat.

"Well, I guess Quaiter is mine, then." Quaiter flew up and landed on Jake's shoulder. Professor Pine handed the kids their respective Pokéballs.

The kids walked towards the door. "Alright, kids! It's been a pleasure to see you all again. Claire, tell your parents I said hi, and I hope you enjoy your Pokémon! I'll see you- WAIT!" The kids stopped dead in their tracks. "I have something very important to ask of you guys. Come here." The teens turned around and followed Serena back to her giant lab station.

"As you may know, I study Pokémon genetics," The professor started. "I'm quite new to my studies, so I need some help gathering data. That's where I want you kids to step in."

Jake raised his hand. "Are we going to get Pokédexes? I've heard of those." Professor Pine nodded.

"Yeah, what Jake said. You four are going to get Pokédexes, and I need you to help me fill it up. All you have to do is encounter a wild Pokémon and the Pokédex will automatically record its basic information. If you catch the Pokémon, however, the rest of the information will be inserted as well." Serena handed each kid a shiny Pokédex that opened at the press of a button to reveal a holographic keyboard and touch screen.

"Wow," Trudy muttered. "How modern." She picked up her indigo Pokédex and slid it in the black pack that was attached by her black belt on her grey miniskirt. Claire dropped hers in her newsboy bag, and Jake put his in his backpack.

Dustin ended up shoving his in a tiny crook in his overpacked drawstring backpack that looked like it was going to burst at the seams any moment.

_Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm going on a real, actual, legit Pokémon adventure, _Claire thought. _Well, I don't know much about this whole thing yet, but I can already tell something special is in store._

* * *

**AN: Well, THAT was a LONG chapter! I can't wait to keep writing this! I really hope this isn't boring you guys to death...**

**Anywho, the ****Pokémon whose names you don't recognize probably belong to me and the terrifying vortex that is my imagination. If you haven't already noticed, Professor Pine is Serena from Pokémon X and Y! I thought that'd be a cool little diddly to put in this story, and I hope you're not all "****_Oh, she's obsessed with _**_**Pokémon X and Y oh she doesn't know what REAL Pokémon games are Gen 1 FTW yo" **_**because my first legit Pokémon game was Pokémon Diamond. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! I will take any suggestions! And if you give me an OC, I might make them a random trainer or something... Maybe a Gym Leader...?**

**I love you guys! Keep reading; I have lots of feels planned!**

**-TheTallPeanut**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, all! I am SO SORRY about the absentness of Claire, Trudy, Jake, and Dustin! I can explain: Throughout this whole month (July 2014) I was in Peter Pan the Musical, all day, every day, all month, and to wrap it up, we had 4 shows in one weekend. I'm just so tired, but today, I thought, _Let's get this chapter DONE! _So I did, and here it is! I hope you enjoy!**

Caterpies were pretty common at Route 3. They'd inch their way out of the tall grass onto the trail made by countless trainers- novices and masters alike. As expected, a Caterpie appeared right in front of Dustin's feet.

"AGH!" He shouted. "HEY! Trudy, you PROMISED not to sic small bug Pokémon on me again!" Trudy rolled her eyes.

"Dustin, that's just a regular Caterpie! There are a kajillion of 'em out here, you dimwit!" Trudy flicked Dustin's arm. Claire smirked.

Jake slowly approached the small, caterpillar-like Pokémon. "Quaiter, get ready for your first battle!" He tossed Quaiter's Pokéball, and in a flash of light the blue bird appeared. "Quai!" It chirped.

"Quaiter, use Leer!" The bird narrowed its eyes at the Caterpie, and a scared, intimidated look flashed in its big, black eyes.

"Ca-PEEE!" The Caterpie shot a string from its mouth and enveloped one of Quaiter's feet.

"No big deal. Quaiter, pick it off, then use Peck!" Quaiter clipped the thin string off of its talon, then lunged at the bug and jabbed it with its beak. Caterpie stumbled back on its short, stubby legs and toppled over, but its eyes were still open.

Jake tossed an unused Pokéball from his backpack (which Professor Pine had given him, along with all the others) and it opened, sealing Caterpie inside. The ball shook once, twice, three times, and... click! A spark flew from the Pokéball's button, indicating that Jake had indeed caught Caterpie.

"Hey, cool! My first caught Pokémon!" Jake said, holding up the ball. "Thanks, Quaiter," he said, rubbing the bird's head. Quaiter ruffled its feathers a bit, sending tiny water droplets flying.

"Wow, Jake, that was so cool! It was your first try, too!" Dustin exclaimed. Claire and Trudy nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Jake said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Trudy grabbed Dustin's and Claire's hands. "Well, coolness aside, the REST of us need Pokémon too! Let's go!" And with that, the four kids took off running to their next destination, Ufarou City.

"Aw, man! This city is HUMONGOUS! There is NO WAY we'll be able to find a Pokémon Center!" Trudy wailed. The quartet had been wandering around Ufarou City for at least an hour, trying to find a Pokémon center to lodge and heal Jake's Caterpie.

"Tru, I hope you know that Ufarou isn't the biggest city in Arbana," Jake muttered. "And speaking of Pokémon Centers, there's one right over there." Jake pointed to a tall building with red framed windows, a red-tinted automatic glass door, a red Pokéball logo, and a red roof.

"Oh." Trudy mumbled.

Claire laughed. "It seems like Pokémon Centers would be pretty noticeable, too. Come on, we gotta make a reservation to stay the night!" The foursome walked towards the building, and the glass doors opened.

The Center was plain, with gray walls and light blue furniture. Right smack-dab in the middle of the lobby was a smooth marble desk with a big machine behind it. A lady with bright red hair and a pink dress sat at the desk, but turned when Claire leaned on the desk.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center. How may I help you?" The lady asked.

"Hi! My name is Claire Vanata. Do you have two duo rooms for tonight?" The woman nodded.

"We sure do! Good thing you arrived so early, too. Normally, we're booked by six in the evening!"

Claire turned and grinned at her friends. Trudy fist pumped the air. "YES! No camping, no cammmmmping~" she sang.

The lady- 'Nurse Joy', her name tag read- gave her a plastic card that said "451" on it, and another key with "452". Claire chucked the "452" key at Jake. He caught it effortlessly. "Alright, Ford. Take Dust-bowl with you and get settled."

Claire thanked the nurse and walked over to Trudy. "Let's went," Trudy said, and the two walked to the elevator.

Ping! The elevator doors slid open, and Trudy hopped out, followed by Claire. The girls found room 451, shoved the key in the lock, and as soon as he light flashed green, the girls practically busted the door down, trying to enter before the room relocked itself.

Claire flopped down on her bed, the plush, cool, spotless covers enveloping her in its hotelish gloriousness. Trudy had gone to the bathroom to shower, so Claire was stuck with a fluffy Pokémon Center bed, her Pokédex, and...

"Ferharn, come on out!" Seconds later, Claire's leafy rabbit was sitting on her lap. "Harn!" It squeaked. Claire played with her leafy Pokémon until it fell asleep on her lap and snored softly. Claire smiled to herself. _I bet Ferharn's had an exciting day, getting picked and all_, Claire thought.

Ten minutes later, Trudy was out of the shower, and Claire was in. The warm water felt super good, but all good things must come to an end, so eventually Claire got out and dried off.

By this time, it was around 6pm, so Claire and Trudy went across the hall to Jake and Dustin's room. Trudy knocked on the door. Claire heard some shuffling and Jake opened the door. "Yo, D-bag, it's the girls. You decent?" Jake glanced over his shoulder and a second later looked back at his friends. "He's good. Come on in."

Trudy and Claire entered the room to find that, unlike any other place that Dustin had been to, it was spick-and-span. "Wow, Dustpan, seems like Jake actually knows how to keep a room clean," Claire commented.

"What?! I can keep a damn room clean for half an hour!" Dustin whined. Jake shook his head. Trudy obnoxiously burst out laughing, and Claire let out a highly sarcastic "Yeah, right."

Trudy finished laughing and wheezed, "Yeah! Remember how we all went with our parents to Sinnoh, and you practically blew up the hotel? Your room was a mess the minute we got there and you unpacked all your useless crap!" Dustin glared at her. Jake smirked and Claire laughed.

"Yeah, this time I unpacked his 'useless crap', Tru," Jake said. "He didn't have that much to begin with, but once I gave him Caterpie, the room was in grave dan-"

"You did WHAT?!" Claire and Trudy shouted simultaneously. Jake jumped and Dustin winced.

Jake cleared his throat. "W-Well, I gave him Caterpie, because he was the only one without a Pokémon!" He stammered.

Claire groaned and said, "You are such a pushover! Dustin didn't want a Pokémon!" Dustin shook his head.

"Well, actually, none of the Pokémon at the lab really caught my interest, and-" Dustin was interrupted by Trudy.

"So you just waited for Jake to catch you one? I find that hard to believe that Jake would be so...soft!" Trudy's words had fire dripping from them. Jake grabbed Trudy's shoulder. She stopped and looked at the perfect, clean carpet. "Okay, whatever." She muttered, then an evil grin rose on her face. "But just so you know, bug types are weak to fire types!" She winked at Dustin. "Come on, Claire, let's go grab some dinner."

The two girls left the room as Dustin stared, horrified, at Trudy as she turned around, stuck her tongue out at him, and left. He looked at Jake, who was smirking, and muttered, "Shit."

**A/N: Well... Now Trudy's gonna kick some Dustin booty, heh.**

**Again, I'm sorry for the delay, but Chapter 4 will be here soon, and there might be a Gym Battle...? *hint hint, nudge nudge* Be sure to REVIEW! I love feedback and it just helps me to make this story better and better! Oh, and speaking of reviews, I want to give a HUGE thank you to PizzaDone, who has reviewed every chapter and given me lots and lots of helpful advice! **

**Review, comment, like, subscribe, follow, favorite, or do whatever you can on this website (I don't even know anymore ugh) and I hope you keep reading! **

**Much love (like always),**

**TheTallPeanut**


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